spread the word daw!

FUND RAISING for LAV DIAZ

hello, everyone. i have some distressing news for all of you. lav diaz, one of the most important filmmakers we have, has a tumor between his lungs, just above his heart. he found out just two weeks ago after experiencing severe coughs. on December 2 he is undergoing a major operation. please help raise enough money to help with all medical expenses, since lav has been spending most of his time focusing on his art.

if you, or any of your friends, want to donate, you can drop off
money at the cash box at JT'S MANUKAN, 4 Granada St. New Manila. Tel no, 7219025. You can also deposit money at PS Bank near there under the name Banaue Miclat.

Spread the word if you can, through text, e-mail, friendster or word of mouth, but please just don't make big articles about this or make this a big spectacle. that's the last thing lav would want. In the meantime some events are being developed to help raise funds. thank you so much, please try to help.

Lav doesn't really know this is being done for him, so please don't all suddenly text him asking about his condition or anything.

thanks again!

Para kay Mechajol

Experience the greatest army story ever told!

The twist in Himala! The Musical

The real miracle is that they turned Ate Guy into Kuya Guy. *just kidding* You must ask Astrid for her own opinion. I know we're just being nitpicky and making chaka, but don't mind us. We're just trying to be wise asses. Plus the entire cast gets bonus cookie points because as the audience filed out of the theater, they were all outside thanking us for coming and watching the show. Awww..

It was slow going out the theater though. Some wise guy noted that it's because F. Sionil Jose, National Artist for Literature, was taking a long time climbing up the stairs. All the while, I thought F. Sionil was Boss Vic. Nasty ko ba? I like F. Sionil. He cracked Ilocano jokes one time at a spoken word thingie. That was good.

Serendipitey

Argh! Blogger just ate a very long post. *sigh*

Anyhow, the other night Astrid and I went to the Dream Jungle booklaunch at the National Bookstore at the Shang. I want that book, but it's just too damn expensive. Our original plan was, Astrid and I will go there so we can smack Jessica Hagedorn silly for making the book expensive. So we got there near 7pm na, and people were having their books signed. There was a podium, but I don't think they had a reading from the book. We just lounged around in the monobloc chairs kasi we don't have anything for her to sign. I just unearthed my pirata copy (nicely bound naman in transparent binding, but still pirata) of Dogeaters. Sagwa naman di ba? Baka kami pa ang i-smack niya silly. Mahirap maging dukha.

We also ran into Carla Pacis and she was looking at me strangely. "Hey! I know you're working somewhere," she said to me with her brows all knit. Astrid told her I was trying to make like teacher and that's when Carla remembered.

Celebrity sighting during the booklaunch: Si Krip Yuson! (Hehehe. Oi Dennis, you're friends can all relate, ei?) Andun din sina Rex Navarette saka si Joel Torre. Later that evening, Astrid met up with some of her ENB groupies and we all had dinner at JT's Manukan off Gilmore Avenue. Masarap dun, kaya lang dun ako nakaupo sa part ng sidewalk na medyo tabingi. Pero keri lang.

Tapos a weird thing happened: We were griping how we're going to miss the staging of Himala! (para in full musical mode) kasi we don't have tickets and last weekend na yata and it's going to be our last chance. We have no free tickets and we're ready to give up and just pay the full price na. Just then, one of our workshop batchmates texted me asking me if I wanted to buy her 3 tickets for the Friday evening performance. O di ba Serendipity kunyari?

Habol: Ako rin ayoko dyan sa ginawa nila sa mga pedestrian crossings or the lack thereof. Ganyan din sa Maynila. Nakakalito kung saan ka talaga puwede tumawid. Nag-rerouting sila ng mga sasakyan. Yung mga jeep hindi na sa Taft mismo dumaraan kundi umiikot sa may Leon Guinto. Tapos yung tawiran inilipat nila dun sa malayo, tapos madilim naman dun. Parang hello, bakit ako tatawid dyan eh tipong makikitil ang buhay ko ng holdaper pag dyan ako dumaan at kahit sumigaw ako walang makakarinig at walang makakakita kasi madilim at dulo siya ng kawalan? Payag din ako sumunod sa batas pero lugi naman mga pedestrian. Ano gagawin namin, iikot muna sa kabilang dulo ng LRT at MRT bago makatawid?

Share ko lang. Kasi sobra rin akong naiinis sa pinagagagawa ni BF sa mga U-turns and removing the islands. Hindi na ako makatawid sa Aurora Boulevard, masasagasaan pa ako ng humaharurot na jeep dahil wala na akong island na pwedeng takbuhan!!! Buti sana kung may overpass. Law-abiding citizen naman ako, okay lang sa akin ang gumamit ng overpass, e paano kung wala? Tapos sa QA naman, may mga MMDA nga, hindi naman nila pinipigil ang mga sasakyan para makatawid ang mga tao tapos pipituhan pa nila ako na tumawid sa tamang lugar. Buti sana kung tinutulungan nila ako. Anyway, buti na lang kakampi natin si Sir Butch.

BUTCH DALISAY'S TAKE: THE QUEZON AVENUE CLEARWAY SCHEME IGNORES
PEDESTRIANS AND THEIR RIGHT TO CROSS THE STREET SAFELY

PENMAN By Butch DalisayThe Philippine STAR 11/10/2003

I'm of two minds about the recent decision of the metropolitan
authorities to declare most of Quezon Ave. a "clearway," meaning a
road without crossings or stoplights. The old crossings have been
replaced by U-turn slots nearby. As a motorist who often has to
shuttle between Diliman and various government offices downtown, I
can sense some improvement in the traffic, especially along that
stretch from the Quezon Memorial to the Delta area. But the
improvement actually derives more from the underpass across Edsa than
the clearway scheme itself. In fact, on a longer stretch that begins
at the Pantranco area and ends at the Welcome Rotunda, the U-turn
slots have simply succeeded in creating huge bulges of slow-moving
traffic around them, relegating the forward flow to the rightmost
lane. (Didn't somebody figure the turning radius of all those trucks
and buses?)

But more than the minimal pickup in speed, I'm bothered by the fact
that THE SCHEME SIMPLY IGNORES PEDESTRIANS AND THEIR RIGHT TO CROSS
THE STREET SAFELY. That ambulant constituency includes my 75-year-old
mother, who insists on taking the jeepney to visit my late father's
ashes at a columbarium in a church close to Quezon Ave. Going there's
no problem, since she gets off on the right side. Coming home is
another thing, because she then has to make it through the gauntlet
of vehicles enjoying what would now seem to be their absolute right
of way. The situation's even worse on Elliptical Road around the
Quezon Memorial Circle, where – the huge relief of a clearway for
motorists notwithstanding – no real provisions have been made for
pedestrians wishing or needing to cross over into the Circle – which
is, after all, one of Quezon City's most visited public sites.

As a motorist who screams his guts out everyday over the infernal
snarl of Manila traffic and the boorishness of the Pinoy driver, I
want a clear, obstruction-free avenue just as much as the next
fellow. I'm convinced, however, that it isn't more or newer traffic
schemes we need (and don't even get me started on that virtual maze
they've created in the Ortigas-Megamall area) – just old-fashioned
road discipline and courtesy, which seem hopelessly beyond us. (The
problem here, as in many other aspects of our society, is that things
like discipline and courtesy need to start from the top; what's the
use, I often think, of keeping to my lane if this two-bit congressman
or mayor and his retinue of bodyguards will just elbow their way past
me and past the red light, sirens blaring.)

And speaking of stoplights, we'd rather not have to deal with them
most of the time, but (aside from letting the people on the left and
right through) they do perform a useful role in the urban economy, as
an instant bazaar for cigarettes, menthol candy, cloth wipes, fake
Nokia cell phone chargers, and – admit it, you've always wanted one
of these – a toy tiger with a bobbing head, a wind-up helicopter, a
motorcycle helmet, and a fishing rod. For the motorist, stoplights
provide the obligatory pause for a quick glance at the cell phone
(don't make that call while driving, folks), a switch of radio
stations or CD tracks, and a much-needed yawn and stretch.

I prefer the old rotundas (what the Brits call roundabouts) myself,
which didn't need traffic lights but which persuaded you to slow down
and literally go with the flow. They were an education in cooperation
and pagbibigayan, which is probably what we need as a nation more
than anything. Rotundas also made good excuses for statuary and water
fountains. But I'm dreaming of another time – or maybe another
country.

nag+protina+kami

daddy would you like some protein?
daddy would you like some protein?

Lalalalalalalilala, can we still be friends?*

No, you didn't blink. Buti pa sila alam nilang may sex sa blog na ito, pero tayo mismo hindi. I checked out the referrals, nasa third page na tayo ng search results eh. Ibig sabihin we haven't been talking about sex enough to land us on the top spot. Shyet, talk na nga lang, undersexed pa rin. Bwehehehe! *charing*

Uy, I met up with my first ever English 10 class. May Korean na exchange student ako, and someone who likes to watch Korean movies at gusto niya rin yung My Sassy Girl. Sana interesting silang mga tao.

Pero bukas wala akong classroom. Welcome to the State U! Magkaklase ako sa FC steps. Sana walang makauna sa akin dun. Balak kong umapir ng nakabihis estudyante at matching backpack. Sayang nasuot ko na yung beachwear ko nung isang araw. Feeling surfer girl sana ako bukas. Hehehe.

Squatter lang ako sa office nina Cel kanina. Too late na ng malaman ko na may office na ako. Pauwi na kami nung makasalubong ko yung nagsabing may note daw sa akin telling me about my room assignment. Drat. Oh well. Magiging roomie ko si Ate Sandra ni Blockmate Bernice. Lost pa rin ako, promise.

So saan ba tayo kakain? Ayaw n'yo naman na ng finger foods ng Mang Jimmy's. Huy a t, bakit di mo pa kinukuwento yun?

---

*Huy, nood tayo ng concert dun sa places where no one can find! Nov 21 na yun. :)

Speaking of post-its, try this out! Post-it for your PC. Baka makatulong. Di anyone notice sa mga referrals natin, someone googled "nag+sex+kami," uhhhh, kelan tayo nagka-dicussion about sex? Did I blink or something?

By the way, Jessica Hagedorn is in town and will have a book signing of Dream Jungle at National Bookstore, Shangri-La, Nov 18, 6 pm. Stalk natin?

Hola, mga ka-angas. I'm starting my first class na tomorrow afternoon. I'll be dilly-dallying muna because I have to look over the syllabi they gave me and make my own. I will use up tomorrow and maybe Friday to give out classcards. Still not used to it, and still have paper work to do. Ipapa-drug test pa raw nila ako. I'm just sorta thankful that I got all the time consuming things (NBI clearance, TIN, bank accounts ek) when I was in my "I need to be a legitimate citizen of the Philippines mode." Now I'll be able to actually use them. Hm.

Hey you guys, thanks for the shout outs. Much appreciated. Also would like to thank Arlyn for educating me on the finer things in life. Yun lang.

keri! congrats ma'am jessel. (",

O ayan, in-attempt kong baguhin ulit ang template to fit the referrer thingie. keri na ba?

Btw, binulabog ako ni Mechajol kaninang umaga. Miss na raw tayo ng lolo n'yo. Sabi ko Mang Jimmy's tayo this Friday night. Keri ba? I told him to contact you people.

Nawawala si Pareng Dennis. Siguro di naman siya naisilid na rin sa baul di ba?

Pakiramdam ko wala pa rin akong direksyon. Saan ba talaga ako pupunta? Gusto kong maglagay ng post it note sa noo ko: This girl is lost. As in. Kung puwede lang mag-roll the dice and live your life, ginawa ko na yun. Hay.

I can't fix the referrer thingie. hey a t, ikaw na lang umayos.

Somebody else's blog appears on our webpage when I checked it. The URL is angas, the template is ours. There is no tagboard, but what appears is Titusonenine by a Kendall guy who's British, I think.

Check it for yourself: altered angas.

Here: "A free floating commentary on culture, politics, economics, and religion based on a passionate commitment to the truth and a desire graciously to refute that which is contrary to it...."

Wtf is happening?

Eminem

Okay, gets. Nung ginawa ko yung post kagabi, I had this idea na mala-vogue nga ang Balagtasan pero tula in Filipino. Oo nga naman, paano ka magkakaroon ng debate kung si Rio lang? Unless kakalabanin niya ang kanyang mga multiple personalities. Hehehe. Aliw siguro yun, parang Being John Malkovich.

Yeah, I think mas fit magcomment si Dennis sa topic na ito kesa sa akin. Or kahit na si Mechajol tutal kamukha naman niya si Teo T. Antonio na hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa rin akong makapaniwalang alive and well dahil akala ko dati lahat ng pinapabasa sa amin ng Filipino teacher ko sa high skul ay dead people na. Sinong mag-aakalang alive pa rin nun si Genoveva Matute?

Wala pa akong tickets sa opening night ng Himala. Gusto ko ngang manood kahit di siya si Ate Guy. Nakakatakot siguro yun. Parang si Lea Salonga sa Miss Saigon na trenta na nagpapanggap pa ring young innocent Vietnamese virgin girl. Shudder. May tickets ka na? How much daw?

Para sa workshop screening. Keri pa naman. Baka mas maaga na ako pumunta. Gusto kong ma-experience na kahit isa man lang sa mga mai-interview ko may isang worthy.

chopsuey

Isang problema sa ating mainit na topic ngayon ay hindi alam ng ating karinderia guy ang kakaibahan ng Balagtasan sa Balagtisismo. (Yung pink book na sinasabi mo yata, xkg, ay yung Tula at Talinhaga na ni-require sa Filipino 25 na guidebook sa pagsusulat ng tulang Filipino. May isa pang aklat si Rio, Balagtisismo versus Modernismo, na sa tingin ko ang naging topic ng kanyang lecture.) Hindi na ako papasok sa usapang post-colonialism.

Para lang malinaw tayo, Balatagsan ay yung mala-Eminem na rap showdown na binibilangan ng tatlong tao, (yung isa tumatayong referee) kaya kung hihingin mo kay Rio na magperform ng isang balagtasan, medyo patay tayo diyan! Alam ko kasama niya si Teo Antonio at Mike Coroza sa Tate at naka-schedule talaga silang mag-Balagtasan pero ang alam ko sa Hawaii pa yata iyon. Hindi binabasa ang mga tula sa Balagtasan dahil impromptu ito. Nagkaroon ng balagtasan sa Ateneo nung Agosto na tinampukan ni Vim , Mike at Teo pero hindi ko napanood pero oo, patay na ang balagtasan ngayon. Pero, naman, pati rin naman ang pelikulang Filipino.

As for Balagtisismo, basahin ninyo na lang ang libro o kaya makinig kayo ng mabuti kay Rio kapag nagsasalita siya tungkol dito. Hindi naman mahirap maghanap ng halimbawa ng mga tulang sumusunod sa tradisyon ng Balagtisismo, hanapin ninyo lang ang lahat ng mga sinulat bago kay Alejandro Abadilla o pwede rin naman, basahin ninyo na lang ang Florante at Laura, pasok iyon. Wag kang mag-alaala, itatanong ko na lang kay Rio kung bakit nga ba hindi niya pinaunlakan ang mga bagets.

Tungkol naman sa workshop, sasabak ka ba uli sa linggo para sa dalawang libo uli nangagarap magsulat at makita ang kanilang mga ideya maging soap opera? May tickets ka na ba para sa opening night ng Himala?

Actually, hinihintay ko ang sasabihin ni Dennis tungkol sa lahat na ito.

Additional lang tungkol dun sa workshop screening. I am just so amazed at how many people want to write, and how little they seem to know about how difficult it actually is to write. I am overwhelmed at just how the hell we are going to find 30 people kahit na potential lang for writing. It's literally going to be like picking a needle in a vast and gigantic haystack.

There was this guy who said he had a script "produced." When I asked who funded it and where it was shown, he said it was just at home. He wrote it, therefore he produced it. Tama nga naman. I asked him what it was about. "Wala lang. Just this guy na ipinanganak, lumaki, tapos namatay." [Nothing much. Just a regular dude who was born, grew up and died.] "So ano yung conflict niya sa buhay?" "Wala lang. Yung halo-halong problema." In short, linear lang na buhay ng tao. It's probably this guy's life and times, but life as it is just doesn't cut it. Pag walang drama yan, dead ka na.

When asked how much they think a writer should be paid for scripting a week's worth of suds, some timidly ventured "P15k?" He must have seen Job's horrified reaction so the guy lowered his price. "Ten na lang." Job said that The Boss would probably love them. This scared the guy even more and bargained, "Kahit 8k lang okay na. Mapapanood naman sa tv yung ginawa ko eh."

Eeeek. Yun lang ang masasabi ko. I don't think these people get it. For starters, I tell the applicants out right that they will be doing a thankless job. Nobody ever goes out of the theater saying "Ang galing nung writer naisip niya yun!" They would scream, "Ang guwapo ni Aga!" But nobody ever remembers the poor writer's name. The writer would be asked to revise a script pronto, or go to the set and change the storyline because the actress is dropping everything to get married, then go back and ask if she could do guest spots after she's been written off in the story. Then I would ask them, Gusto n'yo pa bang magsulat? All of them would say yes. But I really think they don't know what they're getting into.

Then there's this guy who says he's an architect but he wants to write for tv. He doesn't like telenovelas, even after I made it clear that the station is looking mostly for soap opera writers. The Architect (uy taga-Matrix kaya siya? Hehe) loathes soap operas. He hates it that they have unwieldy Eastern European sounding names. He hates it that everyone is just somebody's missing child, and that someone is always out for vendetta. Even after I pointed out that his job is how to make those genre conventions new, he still won't budge. I don't think he's right for the workshop. And oh, he seemed to be wearing a three day old shirt. I could just see the grime on his collar. Plus he has dirty finger nails. I firmly believe that writing ability or not, one must come to a workshop screening with at least trimmed finger nails lest the interviewer die from sheer proximity.

Am I bitchy?

mix-mix

okay, puro comments at reactions lang ang blogpost na ito ha.

Sub comment 1: Tungkol kay Bebang Siy at sa experience niya sa CDG.

Nabasa ko rin yan kung hindi sa mailing list ng Plaridel ay baka sa Brash. Did you know na ako man ay naimbita ring mag-join ng CDG? This was after the Star Cinema thingie last year. Sabi ko may trabaho na ako, at narinig ko na ang mga horror stories about that. Basically they will pick your brains to death. Meron pa ngang workshop dati na ang slant ay "How to sell your ideas," and I went, wtf di ba? Sana sinabi na lang niya, "How to bend and lean over and play dead." Nagpost ng comment diyan si Andrew Paredes, that basically, lahat naman ng industry at business ay may mga sharks. Kung magpapa-take advantage ka, they will most likely do that.

Sub comment 2: So may nagbabasa nga pala talaga ng blog na ito. I was starting to wonder already kasi marami tayong posters sa tag board na wala namang info at di nagpapakilala. (Hello sa inyong lahat, dear blog stalkers!)
Ito lang ang masasabi ko. I tried reading that blog. I read all the entries about the damn Balagtasan lecture blah. Hindi ko matagalan ang blog na iyon, to be honest, but I read it just the same para lang makapag-comment ako.

Sub comment 3: Wala akong comment about Rio Alma kasi di naman kami close, saka alam ko na sa sarili ko na if I took his class, I will flunk dahil hindi ko magets kahit anong pilit ko ang tungkol sa Balagtasismo o kung anuman yung Pink Book na yun na pinagtiyagaan kong basahin sa Filipiniana section nung freshman tayo. Wala akong sense ng rhyme and meter, lalong wala kung sa Filipino. Yes, I might be able to write decently kung pipilitin ko. Maybe in two years. Pero kung dehins kaya, tanggap ko nang hanggang kanto-Tagalog lang ang kaya kong level ng pagsusulat. Alive naman. Deadma na kahit nakatira ako sa town na supposedly ay buhay ang Balagtasan. The biggest park in my town is dedicated kay Manong Kiko.

So dead na ang Balagtasan kasi nobody is fit enough to do it? Napansin ko lang ang line of thinking nila na dahil sa radyo at tv (o yung mass media) ay hindi na pure at pinapangit lang nila ang art ng Balagtasan. So ganun?

Are we expecting all the Pinoy communities everywhere to hold a debate amongst themselves in rhythmic Filipino? I mean, sure the balagtasan as rap sounds nice, but what will the purists say to that? Balagtasan pa ba yun?

Sub comment 4: Do we know sarcasm?

Ay ano yun? Can we eat that for breakfast? I only know irony, and that's because I have to make plantsa my clothes in the morning when I have to dress up and leave the house.

Sub comment 5: Are these two colonized like Rio Alma and me?

Lahat naman tayo ay postcolonial objects sabi ni Neferti. Aware ka man or hindi, you are a postcolonial object. But I have a problem with this dude posing as The Object when he's probably The Other. Hello, privileged ka pa rin compared to all the Pinoys living in Pinas kasi nasa Tate ka and you can probably flash a Kano passport or migration papers or whatever. Which in the view of some Pinoys, or maybe a lot of them, you are in a privileged position as one who lives in the land of baka and pulot. Saka sabi ko nga sa kaibigan kong tibak, you cannot escape your social class, nor can you escape your race. Face it, if you're some Fil Am dude in the States, you might have romanticized notions of what a nation is. What the nation is. Sige write all you want, blog all you want about the native land. But the thing is, you ain't here. You're not stuck in the 2 hour mammoth traffic in Edsa, and even if you learn Tagalog in 2 years, that still won't be enough to engage in intelligible and eloquent balagtasan material.

Paano naging colonized si Rio Alma? Porke ba you were born in the post colonial era in a formerly overtly colonized country but now subconsciously colonized nation, colonized ka na? Nag-claim na ba si Rio Alma na colonized siya? Ang consciousness bang magsulat sa Filipino ay sign na ikaw ay anti-pagiging colonized?

If the National Artist won't perform. Ano ba ito, St. Louis Loves Dem Filipinos? World Exhibition Center ba ito? Baka di niya trip magbasa, we can't blame him. If I were some Fil Am dude in the States and I came all the way there to listen to this N/A dude read, would I have shouted, Boo! Harang! Maybe. Maybe he has his reasons for not reading. Bakit di niya tanungin? Sana nilapitan niya after the "show" and said, Man I drove all those miles so I can come here and hear you read. Have you smelled the scent of apples yet?

Sub comment 6: Are these two pulling my leg? Or, are they actually serious?"

Hm. Pag-iisipan ko pa ito. Why bother pulling his leg? If I were you, deadma to earth na lang. Magkaka-intellectual wrinkles ka lang. Kunyari pretentious pseudo-intellectuals tayo. Tutal we have the machinery na. We're all burgis, and you can't escape it.

Yun lang, babay.